{"title":"How to Knit Fair Isle Stranded Colorwork for Beginners","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/knitting/how-to-knit-fair-isle","category":{"slug":"knitting","name":"Knitting"},"creator":{"name":"Jessica McDonald","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqeL3IW8l11a90Trt59F8Cg","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDuiJhBOiD4"},"tldr":"How to knit Fair Isle stranded colorwork: read the chart, hold two colors, join yarn, and keep floats loose so the fabric lies flat.","quickAnswer":"How to knit Fair Isle stranded colorwork: read the chart, hold two colors, join yarn, and keep floats loose so the fabric lies flat. A medium project. You need 8 things, including wool wash, circular knitting needles and stitch markers. The 9 steps start with read the Fair Isle Colorwork Chart From the Bottom Right, mark Your Row on the Colorwork Chart With a Pen and hold One Yarn Color in Each Hand for Stranded Knitting.","totalDurationSeconds":1070,"videoDurationSeconds":1070,"difficulty":"medium","project":{"difficulty":"medium","projectMinutes":null,"waitMinutes":null,"totalMinutes":null,"estimatedCost":null,"yield":null},"tools":["circular knitting needles","stitch markers","pen or chart keeper","tapestry needle","scissors"],"materials":["wool yarn in a main color","wool yarn in a contrast color","wool wash"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Read the Fair Isle Colorwork Chart From the Bottom Right","text":"A colorwork chart is a grid. Each square is one stitch, and each row is one round. Start at the bottom row and read it from right to left, the same way your needles travel. Then move up a row. The key tells you which shade each square stands for. Jessica's Blizzard chart opens with a six stitch repeat that you knit all the way around."},{"number":2,"title":"Mark Your Row on the Colorwork Chart With a Pen","text":"Lay a pen, a ruler or a strip of paper across the chart right above the round you are working. That hides everything ahead and keeps your eye on one row. Check off each round as you finish it and slide the pen up. A magnetic board and strip does the same job, but a pen you already own works fine."},{"number":3,"title":"Hold One Yarn Color in Each Hand for Stranded Knitting","text":"Hold the main color in your right hand and throw it, English style. Drape the contrast color over your left index finger and pick it, continental style. One color in each hand saves you from dropping and grabbing yarn on every stitch. Whichever hand you choose for each color, keep it the same for the whole project. That keeps the color dominance even."},{"number":4,"title":"Join the Contrast Yarn and Knit the First Colorwork Round","text":"Leave a six inch tail of the contrast color for weaving in later. Hold it against the work with your right hand for the first stitch or two so it snugs into place. Then follow row one of the chart. On the Blizzard yoke it is brown, white, brown, white all the way round. Knit one stitch past the round marker first so the marker cannot slip off."},{"number":5,"title":"Check the Floats on the Back of the Stranded Colorwork","text":"Fold the work and look inside. The strands running behind the stitches are floats. Each one carries a color across stitches knit in the other color. They should lie flat against the fabric, not pulling it into puckers and not hanging in loops. Every so often, spread the stitches on your needle to give the floats enough length. Puckered fabric means your floats are too tight."},{"number":6,"title":"Work the Colorwork Increase Round in the Main Color Only","text":"Some rounds on a yoke chart add stitches. On Blizzard they are worked in the main color only: knit three, make one left, all the way round. To make one left, lift the bar between stitches with the left needle from front to back, then knit into the back of it. Leave the contrast yarn hanging. There is no need to cut it for one or two rounds."},{"number":7,"title":"Pick the Contrast Yarn Back Up for the Next Colorwork Round","text":"When the chart switches back to two colors, pick up the contrast yarn where you left it and drape it over your left finger again. Move the main color back to your right hand. The stitch where the contrast waited will look loose. Give the strand a gentle tug to snug it, or leave it until you weave in ends. Then carry on following the chart."},{"number":8,"title":"Spread the Stitches to Keep Longer Colorwork Floats Loose","text":"Longer floats need more care. On a round of three white and three brown, knit the first stitch of the new color, then spread the stitches on the right needle out to their full width. That gives the float behind them enough length. Knit the rest of that color block and spread again before switching back. Bunched stitches make a tight float and a bumpy fabric."},{"number":9,"title":"Stretch the Fair Isle Yoke to Check the Float Tension","text":"Every few rounds, stop and spread out the work you have done. Pull it gently sideways. Good stranded fabric stretches without any spot binding up, and lies flat when you let go. If it feels tight, loosen up on the next rounds. When the yoke is finished, soak it and lay it flat to dry. Blocking relaxes the stitches and evens out small tension slips."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-10-27T13:57:34.644Z","published":"2026-10-27T13:57:34.299Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit Show Me Step by Step with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure. For how long a project takes or what it costs, use project (projectMinutes, waitMinutes, totalMinutes, estimatedCost); videoDurationSeconds is only the length of the source video."}